Image forming devices, such as an MFP (Multifunctional Peripheral,) that can print a document and an image, are present.
The print shop that is a store arranged such an image forming device is expanded in recent years.
Business people and consumers generally use a print shop.
Such a print shop is often located in front of a university.
Also, another print shop is sometimes located in a business district.
A print shop's owner needs to take into consideration where new print shop should be opened or whether it should be relocated.
On the other hand, a typical method of determining an optimum layout for many image forming devices in an office is also disclosed.
For example, with this method, the actions (time and a movement path after issuing a printing instruction by a user on a seat and the user acquires a printed matter, and time and a movement path after acquiring the printed matter and the user returns to the seat, or the like) accompanying printing instructions of the user who instructs printing for a shared printer are detected in a detecting part.
Then, the importance of a print job according to the printing instruction is determined based on the detected action of the user.
Next, the importance of the print job is added for each user. Finally, a location of the printer is evaluated based on the added result for each user.